Undermanned Phoenix Fall to Wildcats

Missing four key players and coach Simon Mitchell, South East Melbourne Phoenix have suffered a 22-point defeat at the hands of Perth Wildcats.

The Phoenix were decimated with the coach, captain Kyle Adnam and key rotation players Cam Gliddon, Reuben Te Rangi and Dane Pineau all late scratchings due to Covid protocols. But they started brightly in their return to John Cain Arena for the first time in almost two months, celebrating the Year of the Tiger in their inaugural Chinese Lunar New Year Game.

The Wildcats missed key big man Matthew Hodgson through suspension and it showed early, with Zhou Qi and Brandon Ashley causing havoc at both ends of the floor, while Xavier Munford and Mitch Creek helped them take a 27-15 lead into the first break.

Just when it looked like it would be a Phoenix blowout, Bryce Cotton and the Wildcats came alive, putting together a remarkable 21-0 run that gave them the lead at halftime. There was some controversy during the streak, with an unsportsmanlike foul on Zhou Qi and a number of other questionable foul calls that could have gone either way.

That late stretch made it too tough for the Phoenix to fight back as both Ashley and Zhou battled foul trouble in the second half as Bryce Cotton and young Wildcat Luke Travers caught fire.

Munford had a fantastic start to the game and tried his hardest against the tide, finishing with 18 points and a pair of three-pointers in the 101-79 result. Creek, who took the captain’s armband from Adnam for the night, also fought hard, producing 17 points while holding fellow star power forward Vic Law to nine points.

The Phoenix won’t have long to dwell on the loss, with a trip to Wollongong to take on the Illawarra Hawks up next.

The Result

South East Melbourne Phoenix 87-101 Perth Wildcats

The Numbers

Phoenix:

Munford: 18 points
Creek: 17 points, rebounds
Ashley: 12 points, 9 rebounds
Broekhoff: 11 points, 6 rebounds
Barker: 11 points

Wildcats:
Travers: 24 points, 7 rebounds
Cotton: 21 points, 6 assists
Frazier II: 14 points, 9 rebounds
Norton: 14 points
Wagstaff: 14 points

The Turning Point

Cotton missed his first three shots, but his tough finish midway through the second provided a spark - and then there was the controversial unsportsmanlike foul call on Zhou that drew the ire of Phoenix fans, staff and players alike. It was a difficult period for the Phoenix and it proved decisive in the game.

The Player of the Game

Lachie Barker
Munford and Creek produced, but Covid call-up Lachie Barker excelled and he gets player of the game in the tough loss. Barker had JCA rocking with his first NBL points on a little leaner in the lane under pressure. He blew the top off it on the next play when he drained a three in the corner to make it five straight at the end of the first quarter. Mitchell said after the win over Cairns he has great trust in Barker and so too did Flavell, the 25-year old finishing with 11 points.

The Play of the Game

The Phoenix’s first bucket of the game was an absolute delight. Eyeing off Law, Creek put the ball on the floor, went at him hard, produced a nifty spin move that froze the big forward and drew oohs and aahs from the crowd, before laying it up and converting the and-1. It set the early tone for the Phoenix.

From the Coach
“That second term was obviously where the game was separated. We kind of lost our way. We had a few turnovers in that patch there - maybe five turnovers - that contributed to eight or 10 points that they had. They also picked up loose balls and offensive rebounds that got them cheapies and then they got to the foul line as well. 10 or 12 free throws in that second quarter. A lot of it was late. That’s when we look back on the game, there’s a bunch of different things we can probably nitpick on and pull apart, but it was right there in that second quarter.”
-Judd Flavell on where the game was won and lost.

From the Player
“We knew that Perth was going to throw a jab. You know they’re going to come back and make their run. It’s just how we sustain our run. And it was tough for us to sustain it today. They got loose balls, they got offensive rebounds, second-chance points, and we didn’t take care of the ball.”
-Xavier Munford on the Wildcats' big run.

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Phoenix Media (5/2/22)